Wednesday, July 19, 2017

The 2017 Cruze is very quiet in fact so quiet that I didn't realize it was shutting down at traffic lights.It also has keyless entry as long as you have the keys with you. The car is also wired to make it possible for a person to stream music through their phone while they are driving.But there is a downside to all these technological advancements. Sometimes the bluetooth signals on a cell phone will interfere with the car's ability to restart. Last month, I found myself stranded at a gas station far from home as other folks kept pulling in and leaving. My bluetooth wasn't connected, but a lot of other ones that were coming and going that day were on. I finally was able to restart by using a remote button on the key fob.

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Traveling the mountains of East Tennessee in my little Cruze has been quite a challenge this year. The car gets great gas mileage (44-46 mpg) but with the little 1.4 engine and the six speed transmission, I often find myself in the wrong gear at the wrong time. What compounds this problem is large pickup trucks that just love to bear down on you and sweep the road so to speak. I picked up some big iron from an another era to level the playing field.

Saturday, August 06, 2016

Our president was very even handed when he was asked at a press conference what he thought of the Republican candidate. "It is a very responsible job". That really says it all!Asked again at a later date about "The Donald" the President didn't reply in kind to all the abuse he had received from this particular quarter of the political spectrum.He simply stated, "He is unfit for the job".If someone had asked me I probably couldn't have stopped talking about how dangerous and crude I think Mr. Trump might be as President. Reduced to one sentence would be that he an unqualified egotist who churns up hate and reacts to criticism with a hot head and thin skin. Not the qualifications necessary to lead an already great nation.

Friday, March 18, 2016

Sometime this week, a tree fell from the public landing across the fence and was perched precariously close to the power line going into my house. Couldn't get my chainsaw started which was quite fortuitous since I'm not very good with it anyway. This event called for more skill than I could provide.I thought, why not go to the DNR and see if they could take care of it since it was really their tree. In the past, I've always taken care of these situations myself especially when storm damage blocked my driveway. Time for a different approach.They were very nice when I reported it and said they would take care of it. Well the next day, as I'm driving down the road, I passed a pickup truck with a state seal tattooed on its door. I turned around and went back to the landing and talked to the the guy. I showed him the tree and he said that he would handle it Sunday. It seems the state doesn't allow employees to operate a chainsaw unless there are two people present. Good safety rule I say!

Wednesday, March 09, 2016

I dislodged this ice chunk from my dock in an attempt to get a pail of water for my cabin. The mallard duck flew in just in time to paddle furiously to avoid being swamped. As he turned the bend, the ice was still on his tail.